Vandenbeld Report
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Vandenbeld Report 2019 Mario Dion Conflict of Interest and July 2019 Ethics Commissioner Vandenbeld Report made under the CONFLICT OF INTEREST CODE FOR MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS For additional copies of this document, please contact: Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner Parliament of Canada 66 Slater Street, 22nd Floor Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 Telephone: 613-995-0721 Fax: 613-995-7308 Email: [email protected] Ce document est également publié en français. This document is available online at the following address: http://ciec-ccie.parl.gc.ca/ © Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Parliament of Canada, 2019 072019-83E PREFACE Under section 27 of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons (Code), which constitutes Appendix 1 of the Standing Orders of the House of Commons, a request for an inquiry may be made by a Member of the House of Commons who has reasonable grounds to believe that another Member has not complied with their obligations under the Code. The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner is required to forward the request to the Member who is the subject of the request and to afford the Member 30 days to respond. Once the Member has completed their response, the Commissioner has 15 working days to conduct a preliminary review of the request and the response and to notify both Members in writing of the Commissioner’s decision as to whether an inquiry is warranted. Following the completion of an inquiry, which must be conducted in private, a report is to be provided to the Speaker of the House of Commons who tables it in the House of Commons when it next sits. The report is made available to the public once it is tabled or, if the House is not then sitting, upon its receipt by the Speaker. Within 10 sitting days after the tabling of the report, the Member who is the subject of the report has the right to make a statement in the House of Commons. The report may be subject to either a motion for concurrence or a motion for consideration by the House. Vandenbeld Report | Preface 01 Executive Summary 03 Concerns and Process 05 Findings of Fact 15 Ms. Vandenbeld’s Position 17 Analysis and Conclusion 24 Sanction 25 Schedule: List of Witnesses Vandenbeld Report | Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY [1] This report presents the findings of my inquiry under the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons (Code) into the conduct of Ms. Anita Vandenbeld, Member of Parliament for Ottawa West–Nepean, in connection with her spouse’s candidacy in the 2018 municipal election for the position of city councillor for Ottawa’s Bay Ward. [2] The purpose of the inquiry was to determine whether Ms. Vandenbeld contravened section 9 or 11 of the Code by using or attempting to use her position as a Member of the House of Commons to influence the decision of voters in Bay Ward so as to further the private interests of her spouse. [3] Section 9 prohibits Members from using their position as a Member to influence a decision of another person so as to further their private interests or those of a family member, or to improperly further another person’s or entity’s private interests. A Member’s spouse is considered a member of their family. [4] Section 11 of the Code prohibits Members from attempting to engage in any of the activities prohibited under sections 8 to 10 of the Code. It serves to bring within the scope of the Code any actions intended to further private interests, regardless of their result. [5] I found that Ms. Vandenbeld’s spouse had a private interest that could be furthered when he sought to be elected to the position of city councillor, a remunerated public office. [6] The documentary evidence revealed a campaign strategy aimed at using Ms. Vandenbeld’s position as a Member of the House of Commons to communicate with voters in order to convey a positive endorsement of her spouse as a serious candidate so as to increase his chances of being elected. [7] The evidence showed that Ms. Vandenbeld used her position as the Member for Ottawa West–Nepean, when she identified herself as a Member while endorsing her spouse’s election bid in a September 2018 letter to Bay Ward voters, in a recorded telephone message that was broadcast to voters in October 2018, and when engaging in door-to-door canvassing. [8] In the report, I noted that Ms. Vandenbeld also used two social media platforms to support her spouse’s campaign. While Ms. Vandenbeld described these accounts as purely partisan, I found it may not be so clear to members of the public that her social media accounts, which mention her title, link to her Member’s website and contain posts relating to her role as a Member, were not parliamentary accounts. Members should be mindful of this when deciding what materials to post on such accounts. Vandenbeld Report | 1 [9] It is clear that Bay Ward voters had a decision to make as to which candidate they will cast their vote for in the 2018 municipal election. I found that when Ms. Vandenbeld used her position as a Member of the House of Commons, she sought to influence those voters and that her actions could further the private interests of a family member. [10] Since Ms. Vandenbeld’s spouse was ultimately not elected to public office, no private interests were actually furthered. I therefore found that she did not contravene section 9 of the Code. [11] While Ms. Vandenbeld’s actions did not produce the result that was intended, she did nonetheless attempt to use her position as a Member to influence the decision of voters in Bay Ward to further the private interests of her spouse, an activity prohibited by section 9. I therefore found that she contravened section 11 of the Code. [12] In the report, I also noted that in my view, the Code does not prevent Members from participating in election campaigns in their private or partisan capacities, provided they do so without ever using their position as Members. [13] I recommended that no sanction be imposed because it was apparent to me that Ms. Vandenbeld’s failure to comply with section 11 of the Code occurred through an error in judgment made in good faith. She had made significant efforts to comply with the rules that she had considered, namely the Members By-law of the House of Commons’ Board of Internal Economy. She expressed a sincere belief that running for public office did not engage private interests. She also immediately stopped all of her campaign activities upon seeking and obtaining my advice in October 2018. Vandenbeld Report | 2 CONCERNS AND PROCESS [14] On October 12, 2018, I received an email from the Honourable Peter Kent, Member of Parliament for Thornhill, requesting that I commence an inquiry under the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons (Code) into the conduct of Ms. Anita Vandenbeld, Member of Parliament for Ottawa West–Nepean. On October 15, 2018, Mr. Kent resubmitted a signed copy of his request as required by subsection 27(2) of the Code. [15] In his email, Mr. Kent alleged that Ms. Vandenbeld may have contravened sections 8 and 9 of the Code by recording a message that was broadcast by telephone to voters in Ottawa’s Bay Ward, in which she identified herself as a Member of Parliament and asked them to vote for her spouse in the upcoming municipal election. [16] Section 8 of the Code prohibits Members, when performing parliamentary duties and functions, from acting in any way to further their private interests or those of a member of their family, or to improperly further another person’s or entity's private interests. [17] Section 9 of the Code prohibits Members from using their position as a Member to influence a decision of another person so as to further their private interests or those of a member of their family, or to improperly further another person’s or entity’s private interests. [18] I determined that Mr. Kent’s request as submitted on October 15, 2018, met the requirements of subsections 27(1) and (2) of the Code. I was therefore required by subsection 27(3.2) to conduct a preliminary review of the request. [19] On October 16, 2018, I forwarded Mr. Kent’s request to Ms. Vandenbeld, informing her that the Code afforded her 30 days to provide me with a response to the request, after which I would have 15 working days to determine whether an inquiry was warranted. [20] On October 18, 2018, I received a letter from Ms. Vandenbeld responding to the concerns raised. [21] On October 31, 2018, I wrote to Ms. Vandenbeld to inform her that, having carefully considered the information before me including her written representations, I had decided that an inquiry was warranted. [22] I dismissed Mr. Kent’s allegations of a contravention under section 8 of the Code on the basis that Ms. Vandenbeld was not performing a parliamentary duty or function in relation to the activities alleged in his request. Since the Code does not define the parliamentary duties and functions referred to in section 8, I took into consideration the Members By-law of the House of Commons’ Board of Internal Economy, which defines a Member’s parliamentary functions as “the duties and activities that relate to the position of Member [.